


(Untold) short stories

by Gilded_Moon



Category: The Witchlands Series - Susan Dennard
Genre: Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Ficlet Collection, Ficlets, Multi, adding tags as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-12 10:14:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28633833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gilded_Moon/pseuds/Gilded_Moon
Summary: This is a collection of unrelated ficlets posted on Tumblr, random crack, and random fluff about the Witchlands.
Relationships: Aeduan/Iseult det Midenzi, Leopold fon Cartorra/Caden Fitz Grieg, Safiya fon Hasstrel/Merik Nihar
Comments: 14
Kudos: 6





	1. Betrayal

**Author's Note:**

> Based on this prompt:
> 
> Person A: "Why are you doing this?!"  
> Person B: "You know damn well why!"
> 
> @write-it-motherfuckers on tumblr came up with this prompt.

"Why are you doing this?!" Merik yelled.

"You know damn well why," said Safi.

Merik was pissed. He could not believe that Safi of all people would be the one to betray him.

He had faith in her. He had thought better of Safi.

Fool brother indeed.

Safi played her final card.

"Uno. Draw four and the color is blue."

Merik glared at his girlfriend as he drew his four cards. "Remind me why I decided to play Uno with you."

Safi smiled and said, "Because I like it and you love me."

"I suppose I do," Merik sighed. "Can we get lunch now?"

Safi laughed. "Of course. I can't beat you too often. I might get an ego."

Merik shook his head but smiled. His girlfriend was the best thing that had ever happened to him.


	2. A rewrite of the Tirla escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on this:
> 
> *arguing* *arguing* BECAUSE I LOVE YOU  
> *stunned silence*
> 
> Credits to @stcny-stark on tumblr.

Iseult was furious. She could not believe that Aeduan was leaving her an Owl.

Again.

They were a team, friends, something else that Iseult was beginning to name. He wasn't supposed to leave her, leave Owl. Not yet.

It wasn't time.

"You can't leave us," she yelled at Aeduan's retreating back. "You can't leave Owl! You can't leave-"

Iseult was cut off as Aeduan turned sharply around and marched towards her until his face was inches from hers. She glad. She didn't know she would have ended that sentence.

"I can leave," said Aeduan. "And I will."

"Why? Why must you leave? You won't tell me why, and I think we both deserve an explanation!"

Aeduan ground his teeth and stalked closer to Iseult. So close in fact, their chests bumped together.

"I do not need to explain nor do I have the time to. You must take Owl and flee. And I-" he stopped. Then said, "And I will leave y-her. Besides, you w-were only a... means to an ends."

This did nothing to calm Iseult's anger. It sent it springing higher. For once, Iseult decided she would let herself have this. She would let the fury run through her body and fuel the words falling out of her mouth.

"Liar!" Iseult screamed. "You may have meant that once but it's been weeks since that's been true! Why do you always make things so hard? Why do you lie to me and Owl? Why are you leaving me _again_ -"

"Because I love you!" Aeduan roared.

Silence and calm fell over the stables. The horses had stopped stamping and screaming. Owl had stopped crying.

No one moved. It was as if they were the only two left alive in the entire city.

In the entire world.

Aeduan broke the moment by stepping back, eyes wide with panic. He had clearly not meant to reveal that to anyone, let alone Iseult herself.

Iseult couldn't think. Aeduan loved her.

Aeduan. Loved her. Iseult, the Weaverwitch with a mind of flames. The pointless half of a friendship. The woman who was nothing.

So that's what the warmth in my chest is.

Iseult licked her lips and said, "We need to leave. Not me and Owl, but all of us. There is enough time for us all to make it."

Aeduan said nothing but he nodded and climbed onto the horse. He extended his hand towards Iseult, still with his panicked gaze.

She took it and her Bloodwitch pulled her onto the horse in front of him.

Iseult hugged Owl to her chest as Aeduan kicked the horse into motion.

As they rode out of the stables and out of Tirla, Iseult turned her head towards Aeduan's shoulder and said, "I love you too."

She heard him sigh a breath of relief and felt his forehead rest against her back as they escaped the soldiers and the storm.


	3. Hiding Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on the prompt:
> 
> She lifted the dust-covered book off the shelf with a ginger touch, as if it would fall apart between her fingers. A deep rumble sounded from behind the shelf, before it moved to reveal two people in a small room.
> 
> @promptsforthestrugglingauthor came up with this prompt.

Iseult lifted the dust-covered book off the shelf with a ginger touch, as if it would fall apart between her fingers. A deep rumble sounded from behind the shelf, before it moved to reveal two people in a small room.

So that's where Safi and Merik had run off to. Iseult had been looking for them for an hour.

The girls had gone to the Hasstrel estate to reunite with Mathew and Habim. They had brought their respective heart-threads with them and were supposed to bring Merik and Aeduan to meet Mathew and Habim.

Or they were until Safi and Merik had disappeared. Iseult had asked Aeduan to track their blood scents and it had taken him an hour to pinpoint exactly where in the estate Safi and Merik had gone.

"Oh hello Iseult," Safi said.

"What are you two doing here? We have to go ex-explain to Mathew and Habim what we've been doing and introduce our heart-threads to them," Iseult responded.

Safi sighed and walked over to her threadsister. "I know. I'm... worried about what they'll say."

Iseult nodded. Their mentors wouldn't be happy with what the girls had been doing since Venaza City. They would be even less pleased with the girls' choices in romance. But still, it had to be done.

"Well, we'd better go meet them before they come looking for us," said Iseult.

"Agreed."

The threadsisters walked away from the hidden room as their heart-threads followed behind them. The hidden door closed by itself.

Merik looked at Aeduan and asked, "Do you think we should be worried about this?"

Aeduan shrugged. "Considering you're a prince and I'm an ex-mercenary and that we're older than our heart-threads and we're on our way to meet their dads? Yes we should be worried."

Iseult heard this from her place a few steps ahead of the two young men. Aeduan was right. She hoped Mathew and Habim wouldn't be too harsh on the girls' heart-threads.

There was only one way to find out.

The four of them stopped in front of a room. After a short pause, Safi knocked on the door.

"Come in," said Mathew.

Iseult opened the door and the group walked in to see Mathew and Habim looking at them from a table in the center of the room. Their threads turned red with anger as laid eyes on Aeduan and confused when they spotted Merik.

Habim stood and walked towards the girls. "You two better have a good explanation for this," he growled.

Iseult sighed. This was going to be a difficult conversation.


	4. Softness at dusk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by the prompt: 
> 
> He couldn’t help the mirth that rose up past his chest and into the corners of his lips. He had spent so long practicing a grim, hardened exterior, and yet it crumbled in an instant.
> 
> Credits to @promptsforthestrugglingsuthor on tumblr (writing prompt 1450)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part three of my valentine's day writing spam extravaganza.

He couldn’t help the mirth that rose up past his chest and into the corners of his lips. He had spent so long practicing a grim, hardened exterior, and yet it crumbled in an instant.

Aeduan had been on a trip to the small village nearby to pick up more supplies for himself, Iseult, and Owl. Aeduan had returned to see the sweet scene in front of him, but he had stopped behind a tree to watch. He hadn’t expected the sight to soften his heart or make him smile but it had.

It was dusk, which meant bedtime for Owl. The little girl was curled up in Blueberry’s side as she tended to do. Despite her testy relationship with Owl, Iseult was tucking a blanket around the little girl while singing a Nomatsi lullaby.

She couldn’t sing but it was the thought that counted. Iseult finished the last verse and stepped away from the girl.

A soft, beautiful smile spread across her face as she turned and walked towards the spot where her and Aeduan slept. Oddly enough, Iseult sat down on his side of their sleeping spot rather than her own and sat in the meditating position Aeduan had taught her when he had first started training Iseult in the way of the Carawens.

Aeduan gave up trying to wipe the smile on his face and walked into the campsite. Iseult turned around to face him. Her smile grew at the sight of him and that made Aeduan’s heart pound.

“Ah you’re back,” she said softly.

“Of course I came back,” Aeduan said just as softly. “That was a sweet thing you did for Owl.”

Iseult turned face away from him, likely to hide her embarrassment. “She asked for a lullaby. I could not disappoint her.”

“No, you wouldn’t.”

Aeduan had no idea why he phrased it like that, but he knew it was true. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, set the bag of supplies down, and took a seat next to Iseult. Since she was sitting on his sleeping spot, Aeduan was forced to sit on hers.

He wondered why the action made his heart flutter.

The two sat in companionable silence as night fell. Aeduan was about to speak when he felt something fall into his side.

He whipped his head down only to see that Iseult had fallen asleep and was leaning into his side. Aeduan let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding and wrapped an arm around Iseult so he could lower her to the ground.

Iseult didn’t wake as Aeduan lowered her down. As soon as he set her down, Iseult turned towards him and curled into his side while throwing an arm over his lap.

Aeduan stopped breathing. No one, save Owl, had ever been affectionate with him before. It made his heart melt and took away even more of the walls he had built around himself.

Aeduan was shook out of his thoughts when he felt Iseult trembling against his side.

_Another nightmare. She gets too many of those._

Aeduan had no real idea of how to rid someone of a nightmare, so he just did the thing that always seemed to work with Iseult. He gently laid a hand on her head and began stroking her hair while whispering about the things he had seen her do that day. In this case, Aeduan whispered about seeing Iseult sing to Owl and tuck her into bed. How that had made him feel. How seeing her purposely sit in his sleeping spot made him feel.

How Iseult made him feel.

Soon enough, Iseult’s trembling stopped. Her nightmare had faded. Aeduan was glad. Iseult deserved to sleep peacefully.

Aeduan removed his hand from Iseult’s hair and laid down beside her, moving to accept her when Iseult curled into his side.

No walls. No hardened exterior. Just a man, holding his love while she slept as he kept watch over her and their child.


	5. Caught

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by this prompt:
> 
> A sighs and pressed down the to open the door. door handle with their elbow, before using their hip to open the door. “I’ve got pizza-” A stares on in blank, confused silence. The only thought in their head, what the fuck.
> 
> A is Safi who is accompanied by Lev.
> 
> Credits to @write-it-motherfuckers on tumblr for creating the prompt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't quit laughing the entire time I wrote this. I can't believe I ship this now but I love them. Part the fourth of my valentine's day writing spam extravaganza.

Safi sighed and pressed down the to open the door handle with her elbow, before using her hip to open the door. She knew Lev would have helped, but she was holding the boxes of breadsticks. “I’ve got pizza-”

Safi stared on in blank, confused silence. The only thought in her head, _what the fuck._

“Safi why are you standing there- hOLY FUCK!” Lev shouted from behind Safi.

Inside the apartment’s living room, sitting on the couch, was Caden and on top of him, Prince Leopold. The two had obviously been in the middle of a make out session which Safi and Lev had interrupted.

“Oh. Surprise!”

Only Leopold would have the audacity to say “surprise” after being caught making out with someone. Safi would have laughed if she wasn’t so shocked.

“This is not how we planned to tell anyone,” Caden said quickly. “We honestly had a plan to tell all of you tonight, but that heh, is obviously not going to happen now.”

“Commander I don’t mean to be rude what the fuck?! When were you going to tell us you were getting shagged by the prince of Cartorra?!” Lev shouted.

“Shagging the prince of Cartorra my dear Hell Bard,” said Leopold as he climbed off of Caden’s lap to sit on the couch beside him.

Caden turned beet red and covered his face with his hands while muttering something that sounded like “for fuck’s sake Leopold.”

Now, Safi did laugh. She was recovering from the shock of catching Leopold and Caden of all people together and was able to focus on the situation at hand. Safi set down the boxes of pizza and waved Lev to set down the breadsticks.

After she had done that (and stopped laughing), Safi turned back to the two men on the couch. “So, care to answer Lev’s question or would you rather wait for the others to arrive in about five minutes?” Safi asked.

“I think we ought to wait to explain,” responded Leopold. “What do you want to do my darling?”

Caden finally removed his hands from his face and stood up. “I agree. We’ll explain when the others arrive for movie night. Help me set up love?”

Leopold flashed Safi and Lev a smile before joining Caden in setting out plates and cups for everyone.

“Did you know anything about this?” Lev asked Safi.

Safi shook her head. “No. But they seem happy together. I’m happy for them.”

Lev nodded although she still looked slightly shocked. “Me too. I just never would have guessed that they would date each other of all people.”

Safi couldn’t agree more. A knock sounded on the apartment door. That would be the rest of their friends. Safi was about to answer the door when a thought occurred to her.

“Lev,” she said slowly as a wicked smile spread across her face.

Lev narrowed her eyes at Safi but felt a similar wicked smile on her face. “Yes, Safi?”

“Would it be cruel to not give our friends any heads up about this for the sake of seeing their reaction when Leopold and Caden start talking?”

Lev let out a cackle. “It would be cruel, but it’s too funny not to do it.”

That was settled. Safi opened the door to greet her friends. She could not wait to see the looks on their faces.


End file.
